Tipperary footballers conjured up one of the shocks of the Round 2 Qualifers for 2012 as they defeated a hotly fancied Wexford team by two points in the first match of a triple-header at Semple Stadium on Saturday July 14th. At half-time Tipp led by 1-06 to 0-06, with Donagh Leahy on target in the 14th minute (see pic). Wexford came from seven points down at one stage to draw level during the second half but Tipp held firm to secure a famous win.

Wexford, who had every opportunity to defeat All-Ireland champions Dublin in the Leinster Semi-Final, now find themselves out of the championship. The selectors made a remarkable decision to leave star forward Ben Brosnan on the sideline, which may have indicated to the Tipperary players that Wexford were taking a victory for granted. The Premier men were, however, determined not to leave this one after them and they ground out a hard-fought victory.

This fine performance followed a gutsy win over another Leinster team, Offaly, in the last round. Tipperary now go into the draw on Monday morning. Another shock was Antrim beating a very fancied Galway team by a point. Limerick defeated Longford by a six point margin, but had to deal with extra time to get the win. Earlier in the day Tyrone beat Roscommon fairly easily to progress to the next round.

Tipperary Draw Home Tie

In the qualifier draw on Monday July 16th Tipperary were rewarded with a home tie against Antrim, a team they will very much feel they are capable of beating.